Cockroach webinar worth your time

In case you've never heard of him, Dr. Coby Schal is the Blanton J. Whitmire Distinguished Professor of Urban Entomology at North Carolina State University. As one of the most respected researchers in cockroach biology and management, Dr. Schal is a friend of the pest control industry, and a talented communicator to boot. All this to say that if you ever have a chance to hear Coby talk about cockroaches, you should take advantage.

So here's the good news. On March 2, Cornell University's StopPest program will host Dr. Schal for a cockroach control webinar specifically designed for people working in multifamily housing.  While designed for multifamily apartment managers, this session should also be useful for pest management professionals.

Topics covered will include his research on effective baiting techniques, and ineffective controls like total release foggers (bug bombs).

Schal will talk about how cockroach allergens have been linked to the development and increase in symptoms of allergies and asthma in cockroach sensitive individuals. You'll learn how allergen levels can be significantly reduced with good pest control alone, and how gel bait treatments have revolutionized cockroach management (all good selling points when talking with apartment managers about their need for pest control).

Dr. Schal's work shows how an integrated pest management (IPM) approach with intensive, targeted cockroach control can lead to both dramatic reductions in cockroaches and clinically significant declines in cockroach allergens.

You can register for the webinar at the StopPests Now website. Email instructions will follow after you register.

Webinar on mosquito control Monday

Drs. Grayson Brown (top) and
Nicky Gallagher are featured
speakers at next week's Webinar.

Just a short post today about a webinar on mosquito control for PMPs on Monday, July 25.  It's sponsored by PCT magazine and will be held at 1 pm CDT (that's Texas time).  Free signup is available here.  Speakers are Drs. Nicky Gallagher with Syngenta, and Grayson Brown with the University of Kentucky, both excellent speakers and knowledgable in mosquito control technology.

My reason for plugging this particular webinar is its timeliness, in combination with the surprising growth of the mosquito control portion of the pest control industry over the past couple of years.  I was shocked to learn at this spring's National Conference on Urban Entomology that mosquitoes are now big player Orkin's #1 annual residential service offering.  And I was amazed to hear that Arrow Exterminating's mosquito annual revenue went from $39,000 in 2004 to $6.5 million in 2015,with mosquito control customers among their most loyal customers.

So if you service residential accounts and are not yet providing mosquito control services, you might want to check out this offering. All you need is a computer and connection to the Internet. What could be an easier way to grow your business?

Webinar on Emerald Ash Borer

Trunk injections made by professionals are
one of the most effective tactics for
protection of urban trees. Learn more about
EAB management options at Wednesday's
free seminar.

For anyone interested in learning the latest information about the exotic pest, emerald ash borer, there is a training opportunity later this week that might be just the ticket.  Dr. Dan Herms, professor and chair of the entomology department at Ohio State University, has been involved in EAB research nearly since its arrival.  He will be offering a one hour webinar this Wednesday at noon.

Dr. Herms will be talking about the implications of EAB for both natural and urban areas of the Southeast, the next major region this insect is expected to invade.  The EAB is now known to be within 40 miles of Texas, and may already be here.  Every ash tree in eastern Texas is at risk, and arborists, especially, will benefit from advanced training on this insect.

Here's the official announcement:

The emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) is now found in 25 U.S. states and Canada in North America, and is rapidly expanding its range across the eastern United States. It has the ability to kill all species of ash trees (Fraxinus spp). 

Being prepared for EAB is important if this pest is to be contained. This webinar will review EAB identification, biology, ecology and management strategies, with particular emphasis on the southeastern U.S. EAB is now considered the most devastating wood pest in North America. 

Dr. Herms has been involved in EAB research and outreach since its discovery in Ohio in 2003, and is also a collaborator with other entomologists researching the pest. No pre-registration is necessary for this webinar. Click here for information on how to join the webinar on April 20, 12:00 CDT. 

Tree care companies, Extension specialists, Master Gardeners, urban foresters, Natural Resources Conservation Service specialists, tree boards, tree nurseries, municipal managers, nature conservancies, and anyone concerned about the future of this important tree species will find this a very useful and enlightening presentation.

Other websites with information about EAB:

• http://www.emeraldashborer.info 
• http://southernforesthealth.net 

Webinar makes learning about bed bugs easy

Do you service apartment complexes or other multifamily housing units?  Or are you a pest management professional with an apartment manager who needs to learn more about bed bugs? You and your customer might benefit from a recent webinar on bed bugs sponsored by the StopPests Now program for Multifamily Housing (yes, there really is such a group).

I think hindsight will show that multifamily housing, even more than hotels, has been ground zero for the current bed bug epidemic in this country. That's because apartment dwellers often lack the means to hire top notch bed bug control services, apartment management policies often discourage residents from reporting bed bugs early, many residents are limited in their ability to detect and correct bed bugs early, and the close quarters of apartments makes it easy for bed bugs to spread through high density housing. Add to that the high turnover rate of apartment dwellers with bed bugs, and the bed bug's excellent hitchhiking skills, and you have a spreading bed bug epidemic.

Webinar presenters, Dr. Dini Miller and entomologist Molly Stedfast, have been conducting research of bed bugs in multifamily housing for ten years.  They share results of this research, along with basic information about bed bugs that any PMP or apartment manager needs to know. Dr. Miller, especially, is a straight shooter who has strong words for apartment managers, in particular, those who would just as soon not have to deal with these difficult pests.

Don't let the hour and twenty minute run time deter you. Thanks to the fast talking presenters, this webinar doesn't drag, and has been edited to eliminate most of the down time associated with most webinars.  So kick back, grab a cold beverage and click on the video above. I think you'll find that the time you spend in this training well worth it.